Thursday, July 12, 2007

This year, just like last year, we have some perennials and some nice annuals in our garden, as usual. The strawberries and raspberries are yielding moderately (they are only one year old), the currants are alright, the veggies are just starting to flower, and the herbs are doing fine.

The fresh herbs are a treat - just to be able to walk into the garden and pick some fresh mint leaves, cilantro, basil, oregano, chives, rosemary, even lavender is such a blessing. I marvel at Mother Nature and never want to take all of this for granted.

Fresh herbs always inspire me to make a simple pasta. And, to dedicate a special post for WHB: Weekend Herb Blogging started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen fame, hosted this week by Susan from Food Blogga (her lobster post is quite informative and funny, lots of pictures and video too).

This pasta recipe here is very simple. Some tortellini, andouille (mock) chicken sausage, tofurkey kielbasa, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, spring onions and fresh herbs is all that is needed. Of course, feel free to substitute real meat instead of soy-based mock-meats that I usually prefer ;-)

Preparation: Cook pasta per package directions. Chop up the fresh herbs, spring onions, sausages and anything else you'd like to toss in the dish. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the sausage chunks and sauté a bit. Then throw in the herbs and the rest of the ingredients, adjust salt to taste, maybe a few turns of the pepper mill for some bite and there you have it.

The fresh herbs I used for this dish are pictured at the top - rosemary, oregano, chives and basil - picked fresh from the garden. They really bring out this dish, nothing fancy is needed. And, I used a whopping 2 cups of loosely packed chopped herbs for 2 cups of dry pasta.

6 Comments:

Oh, Sheela,I envy your being able to walk through your fragrant garden to pick herbs and produce--you grow currants?! How lovely! Fresh herbs really take a dish to the next level, don't they? Thanks for this savory tortellini dish; it's a great addition to the WHB round-up.

Sheela,that dish looks yum! I love using fresh herbs plucked from the little pots.I have whole bunch of veggies growing this year.Enjoy gardening and cooking with it!:))A special post for me this week,hope you visit!

It does look just wonderful. I love having fresh herbs too, and after all, that's how WHB got started, even if I never imagined people would like it so much. I love the mixture of herbs you've used here!

sig, the carnivore-to-the-core, ya, tofurkey is made of tofu, a bit dry for me, but, if i treat it right, it gives the desired texture and flavor :-) but, i prefer my own wheat-meat recipe (http://delectable-victuals.blogspot.com/2007/03/wheat-meat-meal.html) - it is usally juicier than store-bought mock-meats and is not soy-based (

kalyn, your WHB is a wonderful idea and am so glad many foodies around the world are joining in the healthy herbal revolution :-)